The Food Guru

Coconuts: A Peculiar Fruit

2012-08-07T07:13:00.000-04:00

Well there I go again, taking another couple week hiatus from typing my articles. I'm sorry folks, summer is just a busy time for me. I just got back from the trip of a lifetime to Kauai, Hawaii. That's right, for 8 days I was immersed in the warm Pacific ocean, the constant cool Hawaiian winds, and more sunshine than my skin knew what to do with. And there were fruits everywhere!!! Trees with papayas, mangos, bananas, and of course, coconuts. I'll let you in on a little secret: Coconut is probably my favorite fruit of all time. Something about the taste of it is just so incredible, and so heartily satisfying. Getting some fresh coconut meat in Hawaii was a dream come true. But the coconut isn't like your average fruit. It's nutritional properties are quite unique, and while its still an extremely healthy food, its healthy in a different way than most other fruits. In fact, the coconut is composed mostly of a substance you wouldn't think sounds very fruity:

FAT!!!

That's right, coconuts are composed of mostly fat. And not just any old fat, but that super scary crazy spine tingling SATURATED FAT!!! OMG!!! Crazy right? Now stop freaking out for a second and let me explain something. This saturated fat is very, very, VERY good for you. I've said a million times and I'll say it again: fat doesn't make you fat. The fat in coconuts not only gives the fruit an amazing taste, but it also does many positive things for your body. The saturated fats in coconuts (or specifically the oil in coconuts) isn't a long chain fatty acid like we find so often in products made with hydrogenated oils, but instead are medium chain fatty acids which behave quite differently. These fatty acids have been shown to have anti-oxidant properties, as well as the ability to speed up your metabolism. That's right, eat fat to burn fat, sounds great doesn't it?

Now you may be remembering all those times you've heard that saturated fat will destroy your heart, clog up your veins, and in general destroy your circulatory system. I'll say this right now: there is no proof that the saturated fats in coconuts will cause any harm on bad cholesterol levels or overall heart health, and in fact there is much evidence to suggest the contrary. Trans fats from hydrogenated oils are the real killers out there, not the natural saturated fats in coconuts. In fact, by consuming the fats in coconuts, you're actually encouraging your body to use fat as an energy source, which may help you shed a few pounds. And to all who are still in the dark about the powers of fat, it's an EXCELLENT energy source. It's actually better than any carbohydrate, because it has more energy per unit of mass. Cool, right?

But coconuts don't just stop at the fat benefits. They're also rich with vitamins C, B1, B2, and B3. This convenient vitamin package will help boost immune system health and support a fast burning metabolism which will keep you energized, strong, and of course, lean. Coconuts are actually quite low in sugar compared to most fruits as well, which is a welcome change from the normal enormous insulin spike you get when eating apples, grapes, or bananas. In terms of overall calories, coconuts are actually a very calorie dense food, and I bet you can guess why: the fat of course! This means they're an AWESOME energy source, but make sure you plan your daily diet accordingly, because a coconut could bump you over your daily caloric goals quite easily. Here's the nutritional information for a coconut:

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 cup of shredded

Amount Per Serving

Calories from Fat 241

Calories 283

% Daily Values*

Total Fat 26.79g

41%

Saturated Fat 23.758g

119%

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.293g

Monounsaturated Fat 1.14g

Cholesterol 0mg

Sodium 16mg

Potassium 285mg

Total Carbohydrate 12.18g

Dietary Fiber 7.2g

29%

Sugars 4.98g

Protein 2.66g

Vitamin A 0%

Vitamin C 4%

Calcium 1%

Iron 11%

That's a bunch of calories, eh? But don't be afraid, believe me it's worth it to fit coconut into your diet. It's extremely good for you and tastes absolutely delicious. It's definitely one of the most interesting fruits out there, and will always be one of my favorites. But remember though, if you ever travel to Hawaii, or another place where coconuts grow rampant, that more people are killed each year by a coconut to the head than are killed by sharks.

And with that, I say, GOOD LUCK!

References:

http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/features/cocgood.html

http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/4171/1/Is-Saturated-Fat-In-Coconut-Good-For-Your-Heart-Health.html

Eating, The Manly Way

2012-07-13T23:02:00.001-04:00

Let's face it. Eating "healthy" sure doesn't sound manly. It sounds like you're some pansy who's trying to watch their figure and stay trim. Seriously, who wants to be all meek, skinny, and worst of all, weak? Now there's nothing wrong with trying to lose a few pounds, but it just so happens that you're a man, and men should eat big, meaty, chunky meals that fill their belly and build big, strong, manly muscles. How else are you going to move that massive weight? The good news is that you can eat that masculine food you love, and still be lean, ripped, and BEASTLY.

Oh, and to any women readers, there's no sexist nature intended in this article, it's all in good fun. You can enjoy this food too, and get the exact same benefits, I promise.

So let's go over a list of the manliest, most heftily nutrient packed muscle building man foods we can find, and see if we can't figure out how to fill that plate with something big and meaty (and then maybe slip a few of those meager little veggies on the side...as if they'll even fit...HAR HAR.)

Beef: Steak, ribs, burgers, veil, ground up, I don't care. Beef is delicious, protein packed, and filled with so many nutrients that I won't be able to list them all here. It's packed with B-12 and B-6, two vitamins that will aid in maintaining healthy metabolism and high energy levels, as well as assisting in central nervous system health. We've already mentioned the protein, you'll get a LOT of it in every delicious, perfectly juicy bite. Worried about the fat content? Of course you're not! And you shouldn't be, as every bit of fat in that beef is beneficial in some way. Most of the fat is monounsaturated fat, the same stuff in olive oil! The saturated fat is actually an EXCELLENT energy source, and may actually aid in losing weight, as it encourages your body to use fat as fuel instead of sugary carbs. And contrary to popular belief, the saturated fat in beef isn't related to rising levels of bad cholesterol. Pile a big fat steak on your plate and dig in, beef will make you BEEFY.

Whole milk: That's right, we don't need none of that frilly "fat free" stuff, we want the whole, creamy, yummy, thick and refreshing kind of milk, the way nature intended it. Every cup of whole milk is packed with 8 grams of protein from various sources including both whey and casein, and the natural sugars are great post workout to help those growing muscles suck up all those nutrients quick. Mix in some whey protein and you've got yourself some of the most delicious drinkable stuff on earth. And the fat? It's the same deal here. Saturated fat gets a bad rap, but when it's in its natural form it is actually quite healthy. It will benefit blood lipid levels and is an AWESOME source of energy. Pour a glass and be proud of that milk mustache.

Bacon: OK....seriously...WHO DOESN'T LOVE BACON? Thought you had to avoid it on a healthy diet??? WRONG-OH!!!! Bacon is no less healthy than many cuts of chicken, turkey, beef, or any other meat you can think of off hand. Sure it has some fat in it, but that fat, once again, is a great LOW CARB energy source that will both satiate you quickly and actually elevate your mood. That's right, dietary fat makes you happy. Before you complain that it can't be part of a clean diet, realize that there are thousands of people who've lost untold amounts of body fat while eating bacon almost every day. Don't believe me? Just do some online searching. Bacon, like beef, is also packed with B vitamins, and DEM DER PROTEEEEEIIINNSSS. I can hear those heavenly strips sizzling now, mmmmm. Breakfast of the gods.

Eggs: Fry 'em, scramble 'em, poach 'em, boil 'em, and PIG OUT. Egg protein is one of the greatest sources of protein in the entire world, with a bio-availability in the high 90%'s when cooked. That means your body can use almost all of the protein available in eggs with the upmost efficiency to build strong, lean muscle. BUT, as manly as it may look, drinking raw eggs is a bad idea. When left uncooked, egg protein only has a bio-availability of about 50%, so much of that protein is wasted in your body. Plus, nobody wants salmonella. You won't look too manly puking your guts out all night, right? But seriously, eat those eggs. Oh, and dietary cholesterol hasn't been proven to have nearly ANY effect on blood cholesterol, so don't worry about that either. Sound good? Great.

Sausage: Awww yeah, brautwerst anyone? Sausage comes in all shapes and sizes, with all sorts of fillings. Sure, it's not the highest quality meat you can buy, but it's a great source of protein and has a lot of healthy fats in it as well. Want something lean? Go for the chicken or turkey sausage. Want the tastiest thing this side of Neptune? Get some biggun's packed with pork and beef, and pile them next to that big morning omelette. I recommend eating sausage in moderation, but you definitely don't have to cut it out of your diet. Just watch the sodium, as it can pile up quickly in certain kinds. Also, look at the ingredients, and make sure as much of the stuff inside is stuff you can pronounce, preferably meat without additives.

Peanut Butter: I eat this stuff by the spoonful. Packed with healthy fats and Omega-6 fatty acids, peanut butter is the bomb. It's an incredible source of healthy calories, especially when you get the natural, or "natty" stuff. Natty PB brah...all the way. In fact, the best peanut butter out there has the fewest ingredients. While the general rule of thumb is to make sure there is NO trans fat in the peanut butter, you also generally want to avoid the stuff with "partially hydrogenated vegetable oils." Those oils are used to make sure the peanut oil doesn't separate out of the butter itself, which is a pretty useless task unless someone is unbelievable lazy. A little stirring might help those forearms develop anyway. Brands I like are Teddie natural chunky, Smucker's natural, Jif Natural, Naturally More, and Power Butter. Go ahead and have a couple tablespoons, and watch those muscles EXPLODE.

Spinach: OK, you may be looking at me funny. But hey, if it made Popeye a monster, it could do the same to you. It's an aquired taste, but the aggressive flavor almost makes it manlier, right? Try some light sauces or spices on it to make it more palletable, like mustard, salsa, cayenne pepper, curry powder, whatever floats your boat. It's packed with vitamins and minerals, and will help you lose extra body fat covering those shredded guns of yours. Have a couple of forkfuls a day, and release your inner Popeye.

There you go you beastly dude you, eat up and get big, shredded, ripped, and NOTICED. Enjoy your meat, your steak, your peanut butter, and those huge, giant, bacon filled omelettes. Compliment any of these manly dishes with a side of veggies and you're in business. You can eat healthy and retain your manhood, it's easy! Now go eat some food, lift some weight, and growl at all the little meager folks cowering away from you. You're a beast, and noone gets in your way.

GOOD LUCK DUDES!

Eat Fat Get Thin

2012-07-07T13:32:00.001-04:00

OK, just a warning, I'm about to blow your mind. That's right. You will soon be so astounded that you may have to rethink all you thought you knew about dieting, losing weight, and gaining muscle. Also, what I'll say kind of goes against some advice I've been giving (but not really) so far. Are you ready? Are you sure? You say yes...but I'm still thinking you're going to be pretty surprised.

Remember when people told you to eat only lean meats? How about when your mother and father told you at the dinner table to cut off all that fat on the side of the steak? That globby white stuff that was so delicious, yet everything you ever read said that it would kill you? Destroy your heart? Clog your veins? REMEMBER THAT??

Well I'm here to tell you that...surprise surprise..............THEY'RE WRONG!!!!!! THAT STUFF IS ACTUALLY GOOD FOR YOU! Imagine with me for a second. Your distant ancestors, the cavemen of ancient times, survived on meat, and lots of it. There was no sort of "dieting" going on back then. If you were a vegetarian, you died. If you refused to eat meat because it wasn't "lean" enough, you died. You ate when there was food. That's that. Now cavemen didn't live very long, I'll give you that, heck their lifespan was only about half of what ours is now, at best. But evidence shows that's not because of their diet, its more because of, well, predators, disease, and other misfortunes either brought on by nature or...stupidity. In fact their diets were pretty darn good for what they needed to do, which was a LOT in one day. Run, hunt, swim, climb, jump, run some more, all on nothing but raw foods and meats. Not so bad, eh?

And when it comes down to it, the men of ancient days ate a LOT of saturated animal fat. Did it cause them heart attacks and clogged veins? Nope. Saturated animal fat is a remarkably powerful source of energy, and kept them running hard all day. And despite people thinking it'll clog your system and kill you in a few years, they're completely wrong. It's a complete MYTH that saturated animal fat destroys your heart and circulatory system, as is summed up conveniently in this quote:

"A hundred years ago, fewer than than one in one hundred Americans were obese, and coronary heart disease was unknown."

One hundred years ago, people WEREN'T cutting the fat off their meat. Foods were more natural, more pure, more RAW. cholesterol levels were low, plaque in the veins didn't stick, and hearts beat more strongly. It's simple, yet baffling at the same time. But remember this: People with the highest amount of saturated fat in their diet actually have the lowest risk of heart disease. CRAZZYYY...RIGHT?

So why is saturated animal fat actually good for you? Well instead of getting deeply into everything, I'll just list a few immediate benefits. Saturated animal fat has been PROVEN to promote a healthy circulatory system, support immune system strength, allows for skin to remain healthy and vibrant, is an EXCELLENT energy source, and also.....here's the kicker...PROMOTES WEIGHT LOSS.

So if this stuff is so great, why are we so afraid of it? Well in the 90's, there was a big movement called the "fat scare." Just because the word fat means both a state of unfortunate bodily situation AND is a piece of food composition, food companies linked them up and began marketing "low fat" foods to get more customers. They took fat out, sure, but guess what they put in instead. Highly refined carbohydrates such as starches and sugars. THOSE are what made America fat. Yes, that's right, carbs make people fat, not fat itself. Now remember I'm not against carbs, not by a long shot. But if you're going to eat carbs, make sure they're quality, complex carbs. Whole wheats and grains, as unrefined as possible. Ya feel me?

Now time for the disclaimer. Notice how the main subject of this article is saturated ANIMAL fat, not just saturated fats in general. When it comes to sat fats, they are not all created equal. Processed, man made fats do not have the same kind of benefit as the pure saturated fats from animal meat. In fact, many processed fats WILL raise your bad cholesterol and CAN lead to heart problems. Avoid trans fat and other processed foods rich in saturated fat, as they will do you no good.

So how would I suggest you change your diet? Well, first of all, don't go crazy. Don't worry about eating some of the fat on that dinner meat, as it will only do you good when kept within calorie limitations. Now remember that fat is a great energy source for a reason, which is that it contains the most caloric content per unit of mass. What does this mean? That means that if you have 6 oz of super lean chicken, and 6 oz of fatty beef, the fatty beef will have more calories and less protein, as some of the mass is taken up by fat instead of muscle. Make sense? This means that if you're looking for the largest protein content, lean meats are still the way to go. Does this mean that you should be afraid of the fatty meat? I think we've already covered this........no you shouldn't. It all just depends on what you want.

So there. Your mind is blown. Now go eat some fat.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

References:
http://yuru.com/blog/2011-01-were-cavemen-healthier
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/09/01/enjoy-saturated-fats-theyre-good-for-you.aspx
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/10/22/coconut-oil-and-saturated-fats-can-make-you-healthy.aspx

Barney Butter (Crunchy Almond) Review

2012-07-05T07:37:00.000-04:00

The Food Guru here with another review of one of my favorite products of all time. Surprise surprise, it's ANOTHER nut butter! I'll tell you what, I'm completely addicted to this stuff, whether it be peanut butter, cashew butter, almond butter, pistachio butter, or all of the above mixed into one. Heck, when I get the chance I usually whip up my own batch of homemade nut butter, a mixture of almonds, peanuts, and cashews. Nuts butters are EXTREMELY good for you, especially in their natural form, and on my weight gaining journey I've been consuming a LOT of them.

Today's product is called Barney Butter, and specifically it's the crunchy almond butter variety. I will say one thing first and foremost. THIS STUFF IS FREAKING TASTY! Seriously, be careful about sticking your finger in and having a little morsel, because more than likely you won't be able to stop. I have to FORCE myself to put the lid back on sometimes, belittling myself with mental phrases like "OK Seth, come on now, what happened to all your self control? You've had enough. Stop eating it. STOP." And yet, for some reason it's like this stuff STILL jumps out the jar and into my mouth. It is good, oh so good.

Health Factor: As I've already mentioned, natural nut butters in general are VERY good for you. That's because they contain a lot of healthy, unsaturated fats that help to maintain good cholesterol levels, slow digestion, and can actually be used as a good fuel source by your body on ketogenic diets. Almonds themselves contain a lot of Omega-6 fatty acids, which when balanced properly with Omega-3 fatty acids (found in tuna, salmon, shrimp and all sorts of other fish and shellfish), can ensure your body stays in top form and is resistant to excessive inflammation.

Almonds themselves are also packed with antioxidants, which help to neutralize free radicals in your body and prevent disease. They're also loaded with vitamin E, manganese, and magnesium.

Finally, almonds may actually help you to lose weight, despite being a high calorie, high fat food. There have been all sorts of studies done on the consumption of raw nuts, including many tests on human subjects regarding diet and weight gain. People who eat nuts at least twice a week were drastically less likely to gain unwanted fat when keeping their diet in check. So what are you waiting for? Have some almond butter, and don't you dare feel guilty.

Nutritional information:

Here's the label from the back of the jar, which is probably easier to read than me just spewing off all the nutritional facts in the article. More efficient too, I'd say:

As you can see, this almond butter has similar caloric content to peanut butter, however much less saturated fat. The ingredient list is short and sweet, and free of things like HFCS and hydrogenated oil. It also has a relatively low sodium count, and low sugar as well.

But my friends, where I have to go off on this butter is the taste. It is truly remarkable, and is without a doubt the best nut butter I've ever eaten to date. You put a spoonful in your mouth, and it's like you took a little trip to heaven. If the spoonful is big enough, you may close your eyes in ecstasy. It's sweet, salty, and crunchy, and has such a beautifully strong taste that your whole mouth is enveloped in it. Besides the perfectly sized chunks of almond, the butter is super creamy, and makes it awesomely hard to chew it. It's like the perfect blend, and I'm not exaggerating.

Guys, this stuff is gold in a jar, NOT KIDDING.

So what are you waiting for? Pick up some Barney Butter ASAP. It's healthy, natural, and RIDICULOUSLY delicious. It's a great break from peanut butter too, if you've gotten stuck in that rut. It can fit into pretty much any diet too, whether it be weight loss, maintenance, keto, paleo, or mass gain. Get some NOW, because these guys got it right.

......Barney Butter rules. Good luck!

References:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=20
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12442909

The "B" Stands For "BEAST"

2012-06-25T09:12:00.000-04:00

We all know it's important to get our vitamins and minerals. Heck, we've been told that by our parents since the dawn of our days. They were right to say so, vitamins are crucial to essential bodily functions and maintaining a healthy physical and mental state. Every vitamin has a different job to do within the body (while some do overlap), so it's important to get a broad spectrum. Some vitamins are water soluble, and some fat soluble. The water soluble ones you can pretty much take as much as you want (though huge doses usually aren't necessary), where as fat soluble ones you don't want to overdose on, as that can have some nasty consequences.

Now you remember I wrote an article on why multivitamins aren't necessary in a highly clean and varied diet, and I still stand by that statement. However there are a few vitamins that are definitely good to supplement if you live a certain kind of lifestyle. For us gym-goers, who work out hard and heavy on a regular basis, one of the most important vitamins to supplement is vitamin B.

Why vitamin B? Well, in Olympic weightlifting, there is an enormous toll taken on your central nervous system. In fact, we lifters are almost never sore muscularly, as we have highly advanced recovery diets, massages, cold and warmth techniques, stretches, and other methods to ensure our muscles are ready to go another round only a few hours later. The main issue with the sport is allowing the central nervous system to recover, which if left to its ways is a very slow process. Pretty much the best methods of CNS recovery are: sleep, eat, and vitamin B. That's right, vitamin B is actually quite helpful when it comes to restoring CNS function in a short amount of time.

There are a couple ways to effectively supplement vitamin B. The first is to actually inject a vitamin B complex directly into the bloodstream. This ensures extremely efficient absorption, and many people who get vitamin B injections say they feel like superman the next day. Joint pain is gone, they feel wide awake, and usually cannot WAIT to lift. Believe me, that's quite the change from the normal "zombie" state associated with lifting.

The second way is to orally supplement vitamin B. While a B complex is best, I personally usually supplement very large doses of vitamin B-12, only one part of the complex. B-12 is virtually impossible to overdose on, and therefore it's easy to take a LOT of it and ensure your body has all it needs. Any extra will just come out in urine. A word of caution though, just B-12 will not completely repair your CNS completely by itself (although B-12 by itself can have a large effect), it needs support from other B vitamins such as B-5, B-6, B-2, etc. This is why it's important you do get other B vitamins in your diet, either through food or separate supplementation. A person is much more likely to overdose on other B vitamins such as B-6, so don't take it in as large a quantity as you would B-12.

Oral methods of supplementation include pills/capsules, or liquid.

Here's a lot more information on B-12 and the entire B complex via the Livestrong.com site:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/410513-b-complex-vs-b12/

Now as you may have guessed, Olympic weightlifters aren't the only people who experience CNS burnout. Anyone who hits the gym on a regular basis is at risk of "burning out," especially if you're giving it your all in the gym like you should be. Don't be afraid of getting burnt, but try to avoid it if possible. Get plenty of sleep, keep your diet up to snuff, and make sure you supplement your B vitamins. They go a LONG way in ensuring you're able to perform at your best on a constant basis.

There's one more little thing I'd like to discuss about vitamin B-12. The vitamin can be derived from two main sources, Cyanocobalamin and Methylcobalamin. There's a rumor out there that the Cyanocobalamin version of the drug is harmful to your body because it's bonded to a Cyanide molecule. There have been studies done on this claim, and all have shown that Cyanocobalamin has NO noticable effect on your body whatsoever. Zip. Zilch. None. This is good, because this version of the drug is MUCH cheaper than the Methylcobalamin version, specifically because it's synthetic. It's also more stable, and more efficient at getting into your body.

Don't want to take my word for it? Here's an article describing exactly the same thing:

http://www.isagenixhealth.net/blog/2009/07/23/debunking-myths-about-cyanocobalamin-b12/

Before I end, I'll just add a little personal note in. The very first night I took a 1500 mcg B-12 pill, I woke the next morning feeling SOOOO much better than I had the day before. The feeling of mental fatigue and cloudiness was absolutely GONE. B vitamins are an extremely powerful thing. Take advantage of what they can do for you. They're cheap, effective, and boy do they let you perform at your best.

Lift hard, lift often, be a BEAST, and as always, GOOD LUCK!

New Olympic Weightlifting Blog: Liftm0re

2012-06-22T14:34:00.000-04:00

Well, I figured it was about time to create my own little place to write about my journey into becoming a competitive Olympic Weightlifter. My new blog is called liftm0re, and will serve as a place where I put insightful/poetic observations and thoughts related to training, PR's, failures, competitions, workouts, and basically anything related to this crazy lifting lifestyle.

It won't be quite as "factual" as The Food Guru, but hey, that might make it more fun to read in the long run anyway. I'd really appreciate if a few of you checked it out, and if you like it let me know. The more feedback, the better.

This also means I won't post Oly lifting stuff on The Food Guru anymore, so it's a win win for people who don't want to read about it....hah.

Anyway, I really hope you guys enjoy it, and thank you so much for the continued support.

Here's the link!

http://liftm0re.blogspot.com/

I'll be back with more food related goodness later this afternoon. I've got a few new cool article ideas, stay tuned!

Kava: Nature's Chill Pill

2012-06-18T08:33:00.000-04:00

Every once in a while, I try something new that absolutely blows me away. It's not often, but it does happen, and when it does it's a real treat. I mean who doesn't like to be truly astounded? My most recent experience with the magic of nature came just last Friday while I was at work. It's rather fitting that this summer I got a job at a beautiful little health food and supplement store called "Rising Tide Natural Foods" in Kittery, Maine. Not only is the place stocked with the healthiest, purest versions of any sort of food, drink, or supplementation you could imagine, but the employees there (including myself, if I may be so bold) are the nicest you'll find anywhere. The owner, Paul, takes great pride in his shop, and is an encyclopedia of every supplement and their effects. He was the one who let me try this new miracle of nature, and I can guarantee to you he saw in my face how blown away I really was.

So enough beating around the bush. What exactly is this crazy thing I'm talking about? It's called Kava, and it's probably one of the best relaxant supplements on the shelf. It causes any sort of anxiety or tension to vanish almost instantly, and at the same time is able to relax every muscle in your body into a soft and wonderfully "loose" state. And the best part is, it does all this extremely quickly WITHOUT affecting cognitive ability at all. You can still think just as clearly. Crazy, eh?

Let me tell you, I'm not one to be immediately swayed by so called "miracle" supplements such as this. Most natural stuff I look over as being good for you, but not particularly effective. Many times remarkable results are obtained mostly through placebo effect. But in this instance, that's not the case, AT ALL. Let me tell you a little bit of my first experience with Kava. I came upon the stuff while pricing new items, and Paul came over to see how I was doing. As he saw the Kava, his face lit up instantly and he immediately started going into the history and chemical makeup of the stuff (of which I'll tell you in a bit), and proceeded to ask if I'd ever tried it. I said I hadn't. He began to unscrew the cap of the little bottle, and said bluntly, "Let's do some Kava." He took out the cap (which doubled as one of those mini liquid droppers), filled it with the liquid (which had a brown, semi opaque type of look), and squirted some into my mouth. I was completely ready to feel absolutely nothing, but that DIDN'T happen.

At first, my mouth went slightly numb. I swallowed it, and while Paul continued to talk to me, I could feel my body start to release tension. It went from top to bottom, an unbelievable "descending" feeling. My nervousness was gone, and I realized I was slouching. It's as if all at once I slipped into one of the most relaxed states I'd ever been in. I didn't understand it, and I didn't care to. I just knew the stuff worked.

So where does this Kava come from? Well, it's actually a root extract, and has quite a history with different native tribes and tropical climates. The plant is actually called Piper Methysticum (meanining "intoxicating pepper"), and comes from Western Pacific locations. You might also see it called "Kava-Kava," but a Kava expert tells me that this double name was probably formulated by supplement companies to sell more product. It's been used by several Polynesian tribes for its sedative properties, and is actually a large part of many tribal cultures and rituals. In the purest Kava, only the roots are used, and are rich in what are called "Kavalactones," the active relaxing agent of the plant. These Kavalactones are unique in that they're able to relax muscles and minds without effecting cognitive ability. You'll be comfortable, chill, and free of stress. It's also been known to increase sociability, and as Paul puts it: "it has all the good effects of alcohol, without any of the bad ones!" He means of course that it will make you comfortable in social situations, a very useful tool.

Would I recommend Kava? Yes, I definitely would, both for athletes and average people alike. For athletes, it's a PERFECT way to unwind tight muscles and pent-up tension, and make sure you get a great night's sleep. For a hard worker, it can release the stress of work quicker and more safely than any complicated blended stress reliever pill. It's all natural, safe, cheap, and usually readily available at any local health food store. I really encourage you to try it. It's a really fun and fantastic experience, and I truly believe that Kava can improve both your mental and physical state to a huge degree.

I know I'm picking up a bottle next chance I get.

If you want the best Kava, go for pure the pure root, which you can buy at www.bulakavahouse.com
These guys do great business, are very nice, and know this root inside and out. If you have any questions, I'm sure they'd be more than willing to help you out.

Stay cool, chill, relaxed, and Kava loving. Good luck!!!

Cytosport Muscle Milk Bottles Review

2012-06-12T11:36:00.001-04:00

As most of you probably know by now, I'm a HUGE connoisseur of protein supplements. Whenever I get the chance, I try out something new on the shelf and see how it compares to what I've already had. The other day I ran out of Combat Powder, and needed a quick, single day replacement for post workout nutrition. I drove over to Walgreens, walked up to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of Chocolate Muscle Milk by Cytosport. After my workout, I chugged that sucker down, and well.....here's my review of the stuff:

Taste: The chocolate version tasted great! Sure, it wasn't the best protein I've ever had, but it wasn't far off, especially for a single dosage. It's very thick and filling, and tastes like a real and substantially chocolatey shake. Not hard to drink at all, and honestly it tasted good enough that I wished I had more. The chocolate flavor is very potent, and doesn't taste very "chemical" at all (as some other proteins do.) Reminded me of a brownie, even though it's been years since I've had one of those. I will say though that I'm not a very picky person, and can appreciate most forms of chocolate flavor. You may be a little more discerning, but I can say that I'm quite confident you'd enjoy the beverage.

8/10

Protein Content: As far as the protein factor goes, the profile definitely isn't bad. Is it the greatest protein source out there? No. But it's a good blend of many different proteins, including milk protein and a few types of whey. The whey isn't amazingly refined, so I assume it won't absorb quite as quickly as a heavily filtered whey isolate or hydrolyzed whey. Still, unless you're splitting hairs, it's not a huge deal, in fact I think it's good to have a blend so that the protein will feed your muscles over a longer period of time. One bottle has a total of 25 grams of protein, which isn't huge, but is enough. Just to compare though, most powdered proteins will give you about 50 grams of protein for the same number of calories as in a bottle of Muscle Milk. So you're not getting a super concentrated dose, but the amount of protein your body can absorb in one sitting isn't that impressive anyway, so it's not a big deal. Overall, the protein is of medium to medium high quality, and there's a decent amount of it.

7/10

Other Nutritional Profile: One thing I noticed right away about Muscle Milk is that it has an interestingly large fat dosage. Cytosport calls in "functional fat," which I assume means that their marketing it as healthy fat. One bottle has a total of 9 g of fat, 1.5 g of which is saturated. I'm not completely sure, but I think the fat mostly comes from the milk, as well as the oil used in the ingredients. I can't vouch for exactly how high quality the fats are, but let's just say they don't raise any red flags or scare me away.

A 14 oz bottle of Muscle Milk has only 3 grams of sugar, which is quite low considering the very sweet taste. There are artificial sweeteners used, but I have no problem with those, though some people might. The ingredient list is quite long, which I usually don't like, but expected in this case because most protein shakes have quite a bit that goes into them.

Here's the nutritional information right off of Cytosport's website (click to enlarge):

7/10

Price: Not the cheapest stuff out there, but definitely not the most expensive. One bottle is around 3 bucks, not a killer investment if you need some quick protein. I'd only use it as a temporary replacement for powder though, because you generally get a LOT more bang for your buck with powder.

8/10

Name: SUPER COOL! I mean seriously, "Muscle Milk"? That's AWESOME! Wish I'd thought of it. Sure beats "whey protein isolate," or "mass gainer." It's like,

"Hey George, whatcha drinking?"

"Oh, nothing special, just MUSCLE MILK!!!"

Love it!

10/10

Overall, would I recommend the ready to drink Muscle Milk 14 oz bottles? As far as the chocolate goes, yes I definitely would. It's a great replacement for a powder for a day or two, and is a viable post workout protein source. It's got a good blend of protein types, tastes great, and won't break the bank. If you get a chance, try a bottle! Let me know what you think!

Lift hard, lift heavy, refuel, and as always, good luck!!!

Healthy Fast Food?

2012-06-07T09:06:00.004-04:00

Well my friends, I think it's about time I shared with you a quick little blurb on my favorite fast food. That's right, I do eat fast food, though I don't think it resembles the greasy burgers and salty fries you're imagining. In fact, I think it actually tastes a lot better than both of those, and is most definitely a lot more filling. Oh, and you know if I'm writing about it, then it's actually legitimately HEALTHY!!!! Too good to be true? Not at all!

So where is this magical place? Why, I'm sure it's in your nearest big shopping district. It's called Panera Bread, and boy do they serve some good stuff. Panera is famous for delicious salads, sandwiches, and a bakery that will put most others to shame. The stores are well designed, modern, comfortable, and welcoming. And while you may be screaming "NOT FAST FOOD!!!" -- you'd be dead wrong. The food there is remarkably fast. Often I place my order, get my little buzzer thing, and by the time I'm sitting down the darn thing is already going nuts (and scaring me half to death.) Believe me, that food is speedy.

You know what else is great about Panera? They post caloric information right next to the menu items. Now while you may be a little leary as to how accurate it really is, I believe they're required by law to put the same portions in each bowl in order to comply with those measurements, so you won't have to give or take too many calories from the stated number.

Now keep in mind, NOT EVERYTHING in Panera is healthy. In fact, you can get yourself into a lot of trouble with both the bakery (those pastries are incredible), and certain greasy sandwiches or cheesy soups. Now don't get me wrong, everything tastes fantastic, but if you want to stay healthy, watch both the number of calories and the content of each sandwich, salad, or soup. When I'm in Panera, I usually get the Thai Chopped Chicken Salad. It's 470 calories for a GIANT bowl of tasty salad that's completely loaded with protein and healthy carbs. Sure, the dressing is pretty sweet, but is completely manageable. If you want to make it even better, take out the little Chinese noodles (as good as they taste.)

Want a better idea of the nutritional information in Panera's food? Here's a link to that exact information for your dieting knowledge:

http://www.panerabread.com/pdf/nutr-guide.pdf

I believe the best sandwich choices are:

Roasted Turkey and Avacado BLT (510 calories)

Smoked Turkey Breast on Country (420 calories)

And the best salad choices are:

Thai Chopped Chicken Salad (470 calories)

Poppyseed Chicken Salad (340 calories)

Asian Sesame Chicken (450 calories)

BBQ Chopped Chicken (500 calories)

As far as sides go, I'd suggest either an apple or whole grain baguette. The chips are baked though, so they're not the worst thing going.

Panera is definitely my favorite fast food joint. If you keep your head on your shoulders and don't get tempted by the crazy chocolate stuffed croissants or cheesy, creamy soups, you can walk out of that place with a pretty healthy meal in your belly. Remember folks, not all fast food is bad.

Enjoy your meals, choose wisely, and as always, GOOD LUCK!!!

When To Shovel It In

2012-05-31T20:34:00.005-04:00

Today, my coach put the hammer down. He watched me in my last set of squats, and told me bluntly something I already knew in the back of my head:

"Seth, your form looks great. Your speed is good, your depth is great, and as far as technique goes everything is fine. But there needs to be about 50kg more on that bar, and the only way that's going to happen is YOU HAVE TO EAT MORE!"

(imagine all that with a thick spanish accent, even though he's like half Chilean and half eastern European.)

Now, I was repping 110kg. That's about 245lbs, and I was squatting it so deep my butt was basically touching the ground. My max is around 140kg, or 310lbs, to the same depth. For skinny little me, that's not bad, and others might be happy with those numbers. But when it comes down to it, I really should be cleaning 110, easily. My leg strength is lacking, and in all honesty it's really ticking me off.

Squats and food go hand in hand. When people Olympic lifters diet down, their squat is usually the first thing to go. Then the clean, and finally the snatch. The more leg dominant the movement, the more it will suffer from calorie cutting. I've been stuck at around 163lbs of body weight, and I knew I needed to bump up my calories (from 3200), but hearing it so aggressively from my coach put me in high gear. I shoveled down about 4 grand today, and will try to hit close to that with each successive training day.

But enough about me. How can I relate this back to you? Well, I'd like to let you in on the little hints your body might be giving you that it's about time to increase caloric intake. They're pretty easy to spot, but not necessarily isolate as a diet issue. And let me tell you, I experienced ALL of them, without any real clue as to why for the longest time. DON'T make the same mistake I did:

Constant Fatigue (despite adequate sleep): Sure, this could be a bunch of things. But if you know you're getting AT LEAST 8 hours per night, are healthy without disease, and haven't changed much in your training recently, you can probably guess that your body is running on fumes. Increase caloric intake by a few hundred calories, and see where that takes you. I can almost guarantee you'll INSTANTLY feel better.

Strength Decrease: If your lifts aren't going up (and again, you know that other factors aren't to blame), it's time to put a little more food on your plate. Don't be afraid of another sweet potato, or another helping of chicken and rice. You'll thank yourself for it when the very next day your bench feels better than ever.

Injuries Won't Heal: OK, this one could be for several reasons, and you shouldn't immediately attribute it to malnutrition. That being said though, eating too little will definitely not aid in healing. It's very likely that a muscle tear, strain, or general aches and pains will get worse the more undernourished you are. I noticed recently I've been having more and more strange pains in my legs that were never there before and appeared for no apparent reason. Every day I've increased caloric intake, they've been barely noticeable. I'm not sure what the details are on this one, but running low on food can show itself in strange places.

ALWAYS HUNGRY: Well this one seems obvious, however many people fail to eat more even when their body is screaming for more food. Listen, if you're getting a clean diet of complex carbs, lean proteins, and healthy fats, and are still hungry at the end of the day, don't be afraid to eat more. If your food is nothing but quality, then your hunger pangs are definitely not false/fake. Feed your body when you need to. It's as simple as that.

Name Calling: Yeah...I'm constantly getting called "skinny" by my coach. Pretty obvious incentive to eat more.

Eating more can be daunting, but like I've said before, as long as you're eating clean, and training hard as hell, you will NOT be disappointed with the results. Your body won't be able to afford to put on much weight as fat, and the little that does show up will live in the shadow of massive muscles. I can't wait for that day, believe me.

Good Luck!

Food Worship #14: The Kidney Bean

2012-05-25T15:01:00.000-04:00

Sorry folks, I know it's been a while since you've heard from the Food Guru. I've been quite busy, but finally have a little time to sit down and discuss with all of you another of my favorite foods. As you may or may not know, I'm a huge fan of beans. They're a fantastic source of carbohydrates, and are absolutely DELICIOUS. They come in all shapes and sizes, and I could honestly go for a few days rambling on about each one regarding its benefits, nutritional value, and why YOU should be eating them. But today, I must choose only one. And so I've made it my second favorite, as I've already written about my number one (the chickpea, or garbanzo bean.) Today's bean of choice is....*drum roll*.....the humble kidney bean.

These medium sized beans are a little bit funny looking, being shaped like, well, kidneys. But I assure you, they're one of the best foods you could ever put in that ever improving body of yours. Not only are they delicious, but they have a whole host of powerful health benefits that will without a doubt make you feel (and look) absolutely amazing. As per the usual routine, I'll now provide several bulleted categories of beneficial aspects of the bean, as any professional blogger would (despite me not actually being professional...yet.) Let's get started, shall we?

Fiber: First and foremost, as with a LOT of beans, kidney beans are very rich in fiber. Fiber can help lower cholesterol and greatly improves digestive health. It also makes your body more efficient at digesting the other foods in your diet and utilizing the nutrients in each one. In all honesty, you want to get as much fiber in your diet as you can, ESPECIALLY if you have a high protein diet (as any muscle-head would.) Fiber is your friend. One cup of kidney beans will have about 220 calories and a whopping 16 grams of fiber! That is a LOT of fiber, and will do your body a LOT of good.

Complex Carbs: If you're looking to build muscle and have long lasting, powerful energy throughout the entire day, you need a lot of good quality, slow digesting complex carbs. In terms of carbohydrates, you can't get much higher quality than kidney beans. They'll provide your body with exactly the energy you need, and will promote muscle growth and glycogen replenishment. Unlike sugary carbs, complex carbs will NOT provoke as aggressive insulin response by your body and therefore will allow you to avoid unnecessary fat gain. Kidney beans are like high octane, awesome quality fuel for your body, so eat up!

Stabilize Blood Sugar: Not only are fiber and high quantity of complex carbs an excellent source of digestive health and long lasting energy, they also both help stabilize blood sugar, leading to less fat gain (if you're bulking up), or easier fat loss (if you're slimming down.) Low and stable blood sugar levels are crucial to a healthy diet and trim figure, especially as you age.

Protein Packed: Kidney beans are absolutely LOADED with protein. One cup has about 14 grams of protein, and while the beans themselves don't provide a complete amino acid profile (the protein in the beans isn't immediately available to your body for muscle building), when the beans are combined with a good whole grain, the amino acid profile can be completed and you'll get all the benefits of that hearty, protein packed legume. Want the guns to impress the ladies? Grab yourself a can of kidney beans and dig in.

Nutritional Profile: To wrap the rest up into one little section, kidney beans have a great nutritional profile overall. They're very low in saturated fat, very low in sugar, and of course, if you buy the right ones, are all natural. I love the canned beans, which have all the same nutritional benefits, but unfortunately with a bunch of added sodium. If you get canned beans (which again, is completely FINE), make sure to rinse them thoroughly before consumption to wash the majority of that salt right down the drain. Easy enough, right?

Here's the nutritional information for canned kidney beans:

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 cup

Amount Per Serving

Calories from Fat 8

Calories 218

% Daily Values*

Total Fat 0.87g

Saturated Fat 0.128g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.484g

Monounsaturated Fat 0.069g

Cholesterol 0mg

Sodium 873mg

36%

Potassium 658mg

Total Carbohydrate 39.91g

13%

Dietary Fiber 16.4g

66%

Sugars 0.56g

Protein 13.44g

Vitamin A 0%

Vitamin C 5%

Calcium 6%

Iron 18%

*	Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. Nutrition Values are based on USDA Nutrient Database SR18

(Lots of sodium if left un-rinsed, so make sure to remember that step.)

All in all, kidney beans are a must-eat if you're at all concerned with health, fitness, or general well being. They're absolutely delicious, and go well in all sorts of recipes. Personally though, I love just eating them plain with some good spicy seasoning next to a piece of tilapia and some natural almonds. YUMMY! They're cheap, accessible, and ridiculously healthy. Pick some up ASAP!

Love the kidney bean, a magical fruit, and as always, GOOD LUCK!

References:

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=87

http://fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/usda/red-kidney-beans-(canned)?portionid=37577&portionamount=1.000

A Salty Situation

2012-05-13T07:35:00.000-04:00

Every now and then you consume a little more of something than you had intended. Maybe you saw it coming, maybe you didn't, but it happened (or was going to happen) regardless. This kind of situation is a very common one in the diet world, and honestly, I think it usually falls into one of two categories. You either eat too much sugar, or too much salt. The first one I'll discuss in a later article, however I wanted to cover the necessary steps to take if you find yourself overdosing on sodium, as I happened to do this weekend (though somewhat intentionally.)

Now I knew that this weekend I would be training with my coach down in Eliot, Maine for two days, and would be spending the night in the gym. Not wanting to break the bank on eating out, I decided to pack some food. I only had one small suitcase, and no cooler or anything like that, so my options were limited. Not only that, but I'd be training quite hard, therefore I knew I needed quality protein and carbs and PLENTY of each. Can you guess the most convenient food packing option here? That's right...CANNED FOOD. Into my suitcase I threw two giant cans of tuna (10 oz), two giant cans of chicken (also 10 oz), a four pack of 5 oz tuna cans, and a 4 serving can of black beans (I also packed some oatmeal for breakfast, and had a wholelotta whey protein). Every single one of these foods is AWESOMELY clean and has an epic nutritional profile, except for one little blip, which of course, would be the sodium. Holy moley, that was a boatload of salt. Somewhere around 2000 mg per meal if I calculated it correctly. That's about 85% of my daily recommended intake. What was I to do in order to battle such a crippling dosage of salt?

Well, the first thing to remember is that you cannot destroy your body (or your diet) in one or two days, no matter what you do. It just doesn't work like that. You won't wake up twenty pounds lighter just because you had an awesome workout the day before, and you won't wake up a fat lard the next day if you had one extra slice of cake. Diets are about long term results, and the same goes for sodium. Sure, if you consume a lot of it one day by accident, you'll probably retain a lot of water and feel (and look) pretty bloated. But your heart won't stop, your blood pressure won't skyrocket, and you won't die. Phew! Now that we got that out of the way, let's see what I did to minimize the huge salt intake on my body.

Firstly, if you're going to consume huge portions of salt, you need to consume even larger portions of WATER! That's right, I probably drank two gallons each of those days. Drinking more water will actually cause you to retain less, and will also do wonders in helping your kidneys filter out all those extra minerals. Chug that stuff like there's no tomorrow. I had at least two bottles of it with every meal (6 meals), as well as two bottles worth in my pre and post workout shakes. DO NOT STOP DRINKING WATER. I saw very minimal water retention, and I think drowning myself in the stuff did the trick. Obviously don't drink past a semi-comfortable level, but don't be afraid to stick your head under the sink and go to town.

Second thing to do? Consume more POTASSIUM. The sodium/potassium ratio in your body is a very important one, and must be respected. In an ideal situation the ratio should be 1:1, meaning for every milligram of sodium you take in, you should have one milligram of potassium to match it. The reasoning for this goes down to the cellular level, however without getting too complicated I'll just say that sodium and potassium are both EQUALLY responsible for ensuring proper hydration of your body, and without the correct balance you're in for trouble. Potassium actually helps regulate the amount of sodium your body retains, so consuming more may ensure that you don't hold on to that crazy salt dosage. It'll also help combat the hypertension inducing effects of sodium, lowering blood pressure considerably. No matter your sodium intake, it's usually a good idea to make sure to eat potassium rich foods on a regular basis. This goes even more-so if you're regularly physically active. While I suggest whole foods such as bananas for this purpose, another easy way to get more potassium quickly is to consume a sports drink like Powerade or Gatorade (my solution for this weekend.)

Despite a pile of salty food this weekend, I kept my diet clean and my body happy by counteracting the effects of excess sodium intake. A little too much salt every now and then is no reason to fret, as long as you don't make it a habit. Keep conscience of your sodium intake, and take the simple steps listed above in order to ensure it doesn't get out of hand.

Eat big, train hard, drink LOTS OF WATER! Good luck!

Heartbreaking Dawns 1498 Scorpion Chili Sauce Review

2012-05-07T11:12:00.001-04:00

OK, I confess, I'm a wannabe chili head. Allow me to explain. A "chili head" is someone who absolutely loves, and in some ways is quite addicted to, incredibly spicy, flavorful foods. These usually include the peppers which are truly the hottest of the hot, the chilis that make Jalapenos taste like unflavored popcorn, and Habaneros akin to a quick night time snack. I'm talking peppers like the Naga Viper, the Trinidad Scorpion (and similar strains like the Butch T or 7 pot), and of course the infamous Bhut Jolokia (Ghost Pepper). All of these peppers boast heat ratings over a million Scoville Heat Units (SHU). To put that in perspective, a Jalapeno is only about 3,000 SHU. These peppers are HOT!!!!!

Chili heads also enjoy many sauces and spices created from these super hot fruits. I've had quite a bit of experience with sauces myself, and have always liked challenging myself with what I've considered to be quite spicy foods, and am always looking to try the next level. My tolerance to heat isn't bad, but it's nothing compared to the true chili enthusiasts, or perhaps I should call them "heat seekers." However I am always looking to try the next step up, and decided I'd like to purchase a real powerhouse hot sauce and give it a go. I wanted one that would make Tabasco look like the wimpiest little bottle going, but still wanted one made with natural ingredients and actual peppers, not just super hot extract.

After a lot of research, I came upon a company called Heartbreaking Dawns, and let me be the first to say that while my experience with hot sauces isn't as vast as some, these folks blow everyone else out of the water.

Heartbreaking Dawns is a company based on home brewed sauces made with the tastiest combinations of natural ingredients you could ever come upon. They've got everything from pineapple jalapeno sauces to super spicy yet flavorful ghost pepper varieties.

I, however, wanted something with a little more kick. So I settled on their "1498" sauce, made with Trinidad Scorpions, one of the original peppers to dethrone the Bhut Jolokia as the hottest pepper in the world. Boy was I in for a treat.

Flavor: This sauce tastes absolutely fantastic. It's not just a destructive, eye watering heat with no flavor to boot, oh no. It has an extremely rich combination of ingredients (discussed in more detail later in the article) that taste FANTASTIC together. This sauce went through many prototypes, and boy did they get the end product right. It tastes great by itself, but even BETTER on food, and BEST on meats. Seriously, it's got all sorts of fruity aroma, including hints of blueberry and scotch bonnet peppers as well as the very flavorful Trinidad Scorpion pepper. It adds a lot of character to almost any meal, and honestly I can't really imagine it going poorly with anything. It doesn't overpower, despite the intense heat. Awesome!

Heat: I won't lie, this stuff is HOT! But I'll also say that it isn't killer. Sure, if you think Tabasco is hot, you'll have a little bit of an adjustment period (and will want to go light on the sauce at first), but it won't set your whole face alight. It's got a "nice" burn to it that lingers, and makes you sweat it out for a little while, but actually feels good once you get used to it. As you can probably tell, it's hard to describe. All I can say is that if you're looking for a kick, this sauce will DEFINITELY give it, especially in larger quantities. But it can also be used sparingly for a great heat without making you cry for hours. Be prepared for tongue and throat burn though, they can get intense.

Ingredients/Nutritional Information: Here's a picture of the ingredient list.

As you can see, the ingredients speak for themselves. No extract, no artificial sweeteners, no HFCS, just all natural ingredients. Nearly zero calories per serving, only a TINY bit of sodium (very unusual for hot sauces), and a blend that'll make even seasoned food critics quite intrigued. It's fantastic, and it really brings a smile to my face to see such natural ingredients in such a tasty sauce.

Other comments: Check out how cool that logo is, really tattoo-esque, right?

Overall, I highly highly HIGHLY recommend this sauce. It's a perfect blend of heat and flavor, and is about as natural and healthy as you can get. It'll add awesome kick to any food, yet will also compliment the existing flavors quite nicely. You can't go wrong with Heartbreaking Dawns. Be adventurous, get some heat in your life!

The "Smart" Diet (Food For Final Exams)

2012-05-02T16:50:00.002-04:00

Well, final exams are over, and I don't like to brag, but I did quite well. I believe such grades were earned, as I studied hard and made sure to manage my time efficiently (or as efficiently as possible while still maintaining my sanity). Yes, all in all, I'm quite pleased with my grades, and god does it feel good to be done with these piles of work. It's as if all at once, the pressure's been lifted. The lid's off the pressure cooker, ya know what I mean?

Anyway, before I start rambling, I'd like to bring up an important concept relating to my success in this year's final exams (and school year in general). It's actually a concept I talk about quite frequently. Could you guess what it might be? If you said "food," or "diet," you're right. I relate a lot of my success this year to my study habits, but feel that credit should also rest in what I've been putting in my belly.

How, you ask, does food have ANYTHING to do with academic success? Well, unlike a lot of articles which just spout off fact after fact and tout study after craftily worded study, I'm just going to tell you about my personal experience. I mean sure, I'll say that you'd be crazy not to think that food has an effect on your brain. Nutrient dense food does wonders for cognitive ability, leading to better memory, lower stress levels, and greater confidence. Good food helps you stay happy, healthy, and ready to take on the world (or a nasty, brutally complicated exam). This isn't any secret, yet so many people fail to accept the fact that a healthy diet can keep them successful when they need to be.

Did I personally do anything special to my diet in preparation for exam week? Well, the changes I made weren't initially geared toward the exams themselves, however I soon realized that they worked great for cognitive ability as well as physical prowess. You see, on my Olympic lifting training program, I work double sessions in the gym multiple times per week. This week, being pretty much empty other than an 8 AM exam every morning, I decided I'd go even harder on the double sessions (as the only other thing I had to do each day was study.) To support this brutal attack on my body, I made sure I was getting another hundred or so calories ON TOP of what I had already calculated to be a 200 calorie excess. I've been stalling out recently on weight gain, so I figured it couldn't hurt anyway. I made sure these calories came from clean sources such as almonds and egg whites, as well as a few more veggies on my plate. So far, such diet programming has been working beautifully for my workouts, and I've been maintaining strength despite increasing squat volume considerably.

This caloric excess also did WONDERS for my level of alertness, stress (low), and energy. That healthy food pushed me through extra study sessions as well as extra squats, and a hearty breakfast of oatmeal, whey, and peanut butter woke me up and got me going each and every morning. To put it bluntly, I felt, and still feel GREAT!

And one more little nugget of useful information: heavy brain work burns a lot of energy. Yeah, you heard me right, you're burning more energy than you think just trying to remember that darn equation for energy stored in parallel inductors. Ever feel drained after a big test? Like it's time for a nap? Well, you're drained because you've been working hard as heck. The bottom line is, my body needed those extra QUALITY calories, especially this week, in the face of the final test of knowledge.

Note to students: Those "care packages" or "study packs" your college offers to your parents to buy for you are full of absolute junk. Dum-Dum lollipops will NOT help you pass that final, and will likely send you on an aggressive sugar roller coaster that will leave you either too hyper to think or too monotonous to care about which bubble you're filling out. And all that chocolate? It won't help your brain grow, but it sure will grow you out of those jeans.

So what's my advice to you? If you've got tests coming up, don't be afraid to eat hearty meals of clean food. I would suggest heaps of complex carbs, as well as plenty of protein and fats from sources such as nuts, milk, and fish. You do NOT need to be waking up a completely drained wreck, unable to focus and unable to think about anything but how hungry you are for lunch. Keep yourself fed with "premium fuel," 'cause hey, you wouldn't put anything but the best in an expensive sports car right? Your body is the fastest, sleekest, most valuable car you own. Fuel it as best you can, and you'll not only see your lifts increase in the gym, but your grade point average climb as well.

Good luck on finals to all my fellow college students. Eat well and let's start this summer right!!

Training For Gold: Week 10

2012-04-29T07:05:00.003-04:00

It's been a while since I've updated you all on as to how I'm progressing through my training. This post serves only as a short update, as I realize it's really only of interest to a few people. Though this is a pretty good spot to get my thoughts down, if I don't say so myself.

I'm please to announce that I'm continually feeling stronger than I ever have before in my life. The workouts are brutally difficult, however I'm constantly surprising myself with hitting double and triple snatches that I didn't think were even close to possible for me. The strength is there, and Ivan, my coach, clearly knows exactly what he's doing. I have an unbelievable amount of respect for him.

In terms of injuries, I'm overcoming a shoulder pang that's been nagging me for a couple weeks, however through ice, heat, and lots and lots of massage and stretching it's recovered despite not ceasing my training. Awesome! It never effected my numbers either, thank goodness. I'm also overcoming a bout of patellar tendinitis with a combination of foam rolling, a LOT of fish oil, and even more ice. All three combined are working wonders, and 12 days after I could barely walk, I'm feeling absolutely great. Another week and I should be up near 100%.

I hit two new max lifts yesterday, which was absolutely remarkable because the workout surrounding the max attempts was designed to drain me of any energy I had left by the time I actually got the lifts themselves. That means good things, such as LOTS of untapped potential deep within my muscles to lift a good few kilos more in both the clean and jerk and the snatch. I have no doubt I could hit at least another 2 kilos in the snatch, and maybe as many as 5 more in the clean and jerk. Regardless, here's my latest video of both lifts:

You can see more at my YouTube account specifically created to document my lifting progress: Liftm0re (yes, that's a zero, NOT an "o").

I'm due to max out in week 12 as well, so we'll see how that goes. Progress is coming at relative light speed, and I cannot WAIT to see what else I'm capable of lifting. A 150kg clean and jerk by the end of this year may not be so far fetched after all, especially if the muscle keeps coming on like it has been. I'm up to 74 kg!

Stay tuned for more progress, cause I'm not quitting any time soon.

Fish Oil: The Magic Pill

2012-04-27T08:23:00.004-04:00

Let me tell you a little story about me, and fish oil. About two weeks ago, after a seriously heavy squatting session, I walked back to my dorm with burning hot knees, feeling like they were on fire every single time the ligaments moved at all (which they were doing quite frequently while walking...surprise surprise.) I knew it was every Olympic lifter's nightmare: patellar tendinitis. This is where the tendons across the front of the knee (the patellar tendon and surrounding tissue) become inflamed and swollen, and therefore are very resistant to sliding smoothly like they should. The cause? Overuse. It's a quite common injury among lifters, as well as runner, jumpers, and any athlete who runs, jumps or squats day in and day out. For an Olympic lifter, it can be extremely depressing, as it means that future squatting sessions will be full of pain and misery. And taking time off from training unfortunately ISN'T an option. Any time not spent under the bar is progress lost toward new PR's, podium placings and gold medals. Patellar tendinitis isn't dangerous, just VERY uncomfortable and debilitating.

So what did I do? At first, I started ice massage, which helped a little, but never seemed to make any progress in the grand scheme of things. Every workout after that was pain and suffering just as bad as before. So I did a little more research, and through countless hours of internet searching I found what I hoped to be a possible cure: Fish oil.

I read that Olympic weightlifters, when faced with patellar tendinitis, often go on a mega dosing fish oil regimen. That called for 5000 mg a day for the first week, and an additional 2500 mg a day ever week after that. I read that the condition should improve noticably in 10 days, and be almost gone by day 30. I figured it couldn't hurt, and so I picked myself up 300 caps of 1000 mg fish oil pills. The very next day I started in on 5 pills, spread throughout the day. Well my friends, it's been ten days, and I'm pleased to tell you that my knees feel SOOOO much better.

Sure, I kept icing, massaging, stretching, and foam rolling, but I have absolutely zero doubt in my mind that fish oil is a nearly "magic" cure for joint pain. If you don't believe me, just read the countless testimonies by other happy consumers who have loosened up and feel tip top thanks to a pill filled with oil from a fish. But after I started dosing, I did some reading on the pills. Turns out fish oil is far more beneficial than I ever could have imagined. Honestly, I would recommend EVERYONE get on fish oil pills, because what they do to your body is absolutely astounding. Let's look at these magic capsules a little more closely, and really see what I mean about their truly remarkable power at improving your health and well being.

Omega-3: A lot of the magic in fish oil pills comes from this substance right here, omega-3 fatty acids. This stuff is like liquid gold. It's probably some of the best cardiovascular support you could ever get, and will lower bad cholesterol considerably if regularly dosed. It also acts as a strong anti-inflammatory, which helps bloodflow, joints, and pretty much everything else in your body work smoothly and pain free. There are a few types of omega-3 fatty acids: EPA, DHA, and ALA. The two most biologically available and important of these are EPA and DHA, and both are found in significant amounts in fish oil. ALA isn't as important in our body, and can be found more often in flax oil. These are called "essential" fatty acids because our body cannot produce them on its own and yet requires them to function. That's why fish oil supplements are an extremely good choice, especially for those who don't get much fish in their normal diet.

On a side note, in order to achieve maximum health status, you need a good ratio of omega-3's to omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids. The two latter are often found in other fatty foods such as nuts and seeds, and therefore we usually get plenty of them. However omega-3 fatty acids are usually lacking in the average individual's diet, and therefore it's very important to supplement fish oil.

Decreased Stroke Risk: Strokes are caused when plaque builds up in your veins to the point where it begins to break off and cause a clot in your brain's blood vessels. That's NOT good. Luckily, fish oil has been proven to break down the plaque in your veins, drastically decreasing the chance of suffering from a stroke. I'll take that and run with it, thank you very much.

Improved Mental Health: Fish oil has actually been shown to support proper levels of serotonin production in the brain, which will help treat/prevent conditions such as depression. It has also been shown to aid in memory and overall cognitive ability. I think that's awesome, don't you?

Healthy Skin: Fish oil has been proven to improve the health of your skin, allowing for greater elasticity through optimum collagen production. It'll keep you looking young and wrinkle free. I'm not saying it works miracles, but hey, healthy skin is always a nice thing to have, don't you think?

Fat Loss: Haha ok, I'll go into a little more depth on this one, as I can guarantee it'll peak the interest of a few more people. Fish oil is an EXCELLENT tool for fat loss, and I'd say it's essential for anyone wanting to see real results as quickly as possible. Fish oil increases the production of leptin, which both increases your metabolism and decreases your appetite. A faster metabolism means more fat burning power, something many people would absolutely love. Secondly, fish oil is able to increase insulin sensitivity, which allows your body to release less insulin when it senses ingested carbohydrates. This ensures that you'll be less likely to store excess carbs as body fat. Thirdly, fish oil actually helps build lean muscle mass, which will also increase your metabolism and cause your body to hold onto less body fat. Fish oil, despite being 100% fat, actually is probably one of the most powerful fat loss tools you could ever have in your arsenal. Cool huh?

Joint Health: OK, I saved this one for last because I've already sort of discussed it. Fish oil is one of the best tools out there for maintaining healthy, pain free joints. Its anti-inflammatory properties keep things sliding smoothly, and hey, the slippery properties of oil don't hurt either. Thousands upon thousands of people have obtained amazing pain reducing effects from dosing fish oil on a regular basis, and if you think it's too good to be true I IMPLORE you to give it a go for yourself. You'll be very surprised at how effective this stuff is.

Fish oil has been touted as the only supplement worth taking. While I don't completely agree with this, I do agree that it is almost 100% necessary for any serious gym-goer, casually active individual, or couch potato. Seriously, this stuff will do you nothing but good. If you don't believe me, try it for yourself. Pick up a bottle, start your dosage at 3 a day, and see what changes start to occur in your body. I can almost guarantee you'll love this stuff as much as I do by the time you're done.

Love the fish, keep healthy and happy, and as always, GOOD LUCK!

References:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/315158-the-truth-about-fish-oil-fat-loss/
http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/patelladisorders/a/patellartendon.htm
http://fishoilbenefitshq.com/
http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/omega-3-fatty-acids-fact-sheet

Fear Of The Unlabeled

2012-04-25T08:39:00.001-04:00

I recently had a discussion with one of my friends, and an interesting topic arose concerning eating healthy and controlling calorie intake (I have such interesting conversations, don't I?) He mentioned that he was afraid of eating foods that didn't have nutritional labels associated with them, for fear of consuming too large an amount of calories, or other bad stuff (like trans fat) without ever knowing it. I too used to have this fear, big-time. It's a common one. Heck, if you don't know what's in your food, how are you supposed to know if it's healthy? It's a legitimate quandary, and I decided right then and there that I would write my next article on that very subject, namely, how to get over the fear of unlabeled food.

Firstly, I'd like to say one thing: YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE AFRAID OF EVERY FOOD THAT DOESN'T HAVE A LABEL. Why not? Because some of the healthiest stuff in the entire WORLD doesn't have a nutritional label on it. For instance, go and pick yourself an apple. Does it come with a nutritional label pasted to its skin? Nope. Does this mean it's not healthy, and you shouldn't eat it? NOT AT ALL! In fact, you'd do well to eat that apple right at that very instant and start benefiting from the enormous amounts of nutrients it contains. The same goes for fruits, nuts, and vegetables. In their natural form, there's no way they could be bad for you. Just absolutely no freaking way. In fact, almost every single container of organic food you can buy at your local health food distributor will NOT have a nutritional label, and yet those foods will do so much more good for you than any sort of boxed crud you could get at any old grocery store. So if you see a bowl of apples sitting there in the cafeteria, or a bucket of tomatoes at the salad bar, don't avoid them. Dig in. You won't get fat, you won't have a heart attack, and you WILL make your body healthier.

But that's a no brainer...right? Yeah, I thought so. So what about the more complicated stuff? Let's look at the situation I'm regularly in when I go to my school's cafeteria. They make a LOT of healthy food, and a LOT of crappy food as well. And rarely is any of it labeled correctly (though they are trying, I'll give them that.) But do I stress? Not one bit, because I know what to look for. That means I can look at a plate of sauteed vegetables, and tell if the cooks have used too much oil, or if there's a sugary glaze overtop of them to make them more appetizing. And this is what you need to do. With complex dishes, you need to use a combination of past knowledge (what have you eaten in the past similar to this, and how was it made?), and a discerning eye for ingredients (know what oil looks like, know what fried foods look like, and determine what ingredients make up the entire dish.) If it's a relatively plain dish, as in no glaze or anything like that, you can assume that those veggies aren't any more caloric than the raw ones at the salad bar. If it's a stir fry, I still wouldn't be worried, you can easily account for a few extra (healthy) calories and still have a good meal. Heck, a little cooking oil will give you some healthy fat in your diet. If those veggies are rolling around in sloppy meat and brown sauce, skip them, as you know they've been too doctored up to really be beneficial for you. It's not a hard concept, go with stuff that looks more plain, or more sparingly dressed.

What about meat? Well that can be a little more daunting, but still not a horrible situation. Breaded or fried meats are generally a no-no, as they'll have many more calories (sometimes almost double the plain variation), and a lot of bad fats that you know won't do you or your figure any good. Heavily sauced meats are generally in the same boat, and you should avoid things smothered in BBQ sauce or a sugary marinade. If the meat is only spiced (seasoning baked in), it could be just fine, or it could have excess sodium. That one's really a toss up, but a little salt every now and then will do no harm. In my opinion though, the plainer the meat, the better. Go for the grilled or poached chicken, or a medium portion of turkey/beef. I'd stay away from pork and fattier cuts of beef, as they'll be the secret killers, ESPECIALLY if they're unlabeled. Fish is an AWESOME choice as long as it's not fried.

Also, you have to know your portions. 6 oz of meat is a decently thick piece about the size of your palm. 6oz of any sort of plain meat ranges from 120-250 calories, based on whether it's chicken, pork, fish, steak, etc. Knowing portions is just as important as knowing ingredients just by looks. If the cuts are too big, slice it in half and throw out the rest (or give it to your friend who loves meat.) Not hard, right?

Another reason NOT to be afraid of unlabeled food is as follows: Just because a food has a label, doesn't mean it's healthy. Just 'cause you know how many calories are in an Oreo doesn't mean eating them is a healthy choice. Heck, have you seen a Lean Cuisine package? I picked one up the other day, and my jaw nearly dropped open at how many chemical ingredients were in that thing. Low calorie? Sure. Healthy? NOT EVEN CLOSE!!! You'd be better off eating a piece of meat that you had no freaking clue how many calories were in rather than one of those things. Ridiculous.

So here's the bottom line. If you want to eat as healthily as possible, you have to move away from labels. The healthiest stuff on earth is unlabeled, and you have to deal with it. I'm pretty sure most of what I eat doesn't have nutritional labels on it, and I'm seeing fantastic results in both strength an leanness as I continue to train. Don't be a label addict. It'll only limit your diet to the point where you're absolutely stifled when it comes to mealtime. If you're a serious addict, you can always look up nutritional information online after (or before) the meal. But seriously, don't stress. It'll only cause tension, hormone imbalance, and in this case, hunger. Remember one thing: calories aren't all that matters. Nutrients are where it's at.

Know your portions, know your ingredients, and as always, GOOD LUCK!

The Cooking Oil Guide

2012-04-21T07:45:00.000-04:00

When it comes to throwing that fillet on the skillet, or frying up the tastiest stir fry this side of the moon, you're going to be using a little bit of oil in that hot, hot pan of yours. I'm here today to tell you that not all oils are created equal, and while sure, any one of them might give you a nice browned fish or seared chicken, some might actually detract from the health factor that's inherently in the foods you're choosing. Let's make sure you make the right choice when it comes to choosing an oil, OK?

In terms of your choices, they're actually quite varied. Oils tend to be very high in calories due to their dense fat content, so as far as calories go, you definitely want to get the most bang for your buck. So let's get started, and see which cooking oil might best suit your next meal:

Canola Oil: When it comes to cooking in oil, you'd do well to avoid canola oil, despite it being cheap. While it is very rich in polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acids, it's an EXTREMELY processed oil that's formed through intense chemical processes. It's basically an industrial product, and was actually initially intended for usage as a machine lubricant. As you probably know by now, processed foods can do some serious harm to your body, and while I don't believe canola oil will destroy you single handedly, there are definitely quite a few healthier choices out there.

"Generic" Vegetable Oil (Soybean Oil): Generic "vegetable oil" is kind of hard to define as one specific oil, but for the most part it's considered refined soybean oil. When I say refined, that means, you guessed it, it's processed. In fact, most generic vegetable oil is along the same lines as processed canola oil, in that the polyunsaturated fats it contains are in general too processed and "rancid" to actually be healthy for you. They're not along the same lines as healthy polyunsaturated fats that come out of nuts, seeds, fish, and other similar foods. Is vegetable oil unhealthy? Not disgustingly so, but like I said for canola oil, there are better options out there.

Olive Oil: Ah, here we go, the original "healthy" oil. Olive oil is extremely good for you, in that it contains unprocessed, natural, healthful monounsaturated fats, and tons of antioxidants and polyphenols to boot. Olive oil is great to fry in, especially extra virgin olive oil. It has a remarkably delicious flavor that can be a fantastic addition to many dishes, and in my personal opinion is one of the best tasting oils out there. The only downside to olive oil is that it has a relatively low smoke point, and therefore will burn in a pan over 350 F. With extra virgin olive oil, you can avoid this problem somewhat because it has a smoke point of a little over 400 F.

Sunflower Oil: If you haven't tried sunflower oil before, I would definitely suggest doing so. It's extremely good for you, very tasty, and very easy to cook with. It's very high in vitamin E, and contains huge amounts of mono and polyunsaturated fats that are unprocessed (and therefore healthy for your body.) There are three varieties of sunflower oil, high oleic acid, linoleic acid, and NuSun. Depending on which type you get, you'll get different amounts of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid ratios, but in general you can't go wrong with any of them. If you have to choose though, go with the NuSun variety, as it is the least likely to form harmful trans fats when heated.

Peanut Oil: This is a tasty oil if you enjoy nuts. I love the taste of peanuts, and therefore a little nuttiness in my food is most welcome. Peanut oil is another natural, healthy alternative to processed oils, and is very high in monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated, omega-6 fatty acids. It also has a very high smoke point which means it can be used in recipes requiring high heat. For the most part, peanut oil is also cheaper than olive oil, so it's a more economic choice for the average health oriented person. It will impart a little of the nutty flavor into the foods you're cooking, but in my opinion it's quite an enjoyable flavor.

Macadamia Nut Oil: This is a very interesting cooking oil, and in some ways a very "exotic" option for frying your food. It's an extremely healthy natural oil, with not only huge benefits from monounsaturated fats (like almost every oil here), but also from containing large amounts of antioxidants such as squaline. It also contains high amounts of vitamin E, a necessary addition to any healthy diet. It can also help lower cholesterol due to its healthy fat profile (well, so can almost every oil mentioned, but I had to say it somewhere, right?)

Coconut Oil: This oil is a little bit different from all the rest, in that it DOESN'T contain many unsaturated fats, and in fact is comprised of almost 90% saturated fats. Don't worry though, this doesn't mean the oil is unhealthy. In fact, coconut oil is one of the healthiest oils out there. It has a high composition of lauric acid, a powerful antioxidant that is also very heart healthy and supports your immune system. Coconut oil, despite being high in saturated fat, can also help to LOWER bad cholesterol. It's also quite tasty and can add an exotic flair to any stir fry. Coconut oil is blatant proof that not all saturated fats are bad, and that they don't deserve the devilish reputation they've been given.

Hopefully that list gave you a little bit better idea of what exactly to look for when buying oil. In all honesty, it's hard to go wrong when choosing a cooking oil, so don't stress. Even canola oil, while processed, won't degrade your health, you just won't be getting some of the fantastic nutritional benefits available in other, more natural cooking oils. Switch it up a little bit, try a new oil every time you get a chance, I guarantee they can really make your meals quite interesting, flavorful, and add a whole new layer of health benefits.

Keep that pan oiled, and those veggies sizzling. Good Luck!

Negative Calorie Foods: The Ultimate Diet Fantasy

2012-04-19T07:16:00.002-04:00

We've all heard of them, those foods that supposedly require more calories to digest than they actually contain. Like celery! Don't you remember that celery had something like 5 calories, and took 15 to digest? Now I don't really know where those numbers came from, but I sure remember hearing that statement uttered from the mouths of quite a few of my friends and relatiFves. But is it really true? Could you just theoretically eat a whole ton of celery and burn more calories than your daily trek in the gym?

Unfortunately, no. These rumored zero calorie foods are just that, rumors. They don't actually exist. There isn't a single food out there that requires more calories to digest than they actually contain. Each and every day, your body takes about 10% of your caloric intake and uses it to actually digest the foods that you've eaten. Now this 10% can vary based on how many calories you actually consumed, and if it happens to be over the caloric value of celery, then whoopee, maybe in that instance celery was a net loss of calories. But the difference is nearly negligible, and hasn't been shown to aid in fat loss (the effect hasn't, the food most surely has!)

Does this mean you should cut back on celery? Or how about broccoli? (Another supposed zero calorie food.) HECK NO! Both of these veggies can aid in huge amounts toward your weight loss goal. They contain massive amounts of fiber, which will not only keep your digestive system fit and healthy, but will keep you satiated and slow the digestion of other foods, making it a more efficient process and allowing the body to more readily use the nutrients it has been given.

Listen: You're not going to get fat off of celery. I'd be willing to wager you that you could eat as much celery as you wanted, and you'd get full long before you ever gained even an ounce of fat. Raw, green veggies are just too darn nutrient packed to be bad for you, even in huge quantities. Actually, I'll go out on a limb and say that if "no limit" foods exist, celery, broccoli, and other deep greens like spinach and lettuce are definitely worthy of that title.

Eat to your heart's content! But don't think you'll be in a net calorie loss by doing so, because even though I hate to say it, your body doesn't work like that.

Myth BUSTED!

All in a morning's work, and now off to class.

Eat those veggies, and GOOD LUCK!

The Most Dangerous Restaurant

2012-04-17T06:48:00.000-04:00

No, I don't mean that you're at greater risk of getting mugged or stabbed in one particular restaurant over another. The term "dangerous" here refers completely to the food they serve, and the fantastic potential of that food to make you resemble a big, bloated Santa Claus. That's right, these places serve the food that rips jeans, bulges shirts, and sprouts new chins. Sounds horrific, doesn't it? Just about the scariest thing going for sure....

So which restaurant do you think it is? Wendy's? KFC? How about the big ol' Micky D? Actually, it's none of the above. Yes, that's right, in my opinion the most dangerous, fat condoning restaurant is far worse than any fast food chain, and it has a lot to do with the quantity of food they make available to you. Did that give you a hint? If you didn't catch it, here's a little riddle that might make things clearer: What's sweet and sour and comes in endless quantities?

That's right, I believe truly that the most dangerous restaurant out there is a Chinese buffet, and honestly, it's not hard to see why. First of all, they're relatively cheap. Secondly, you get an unlimited supply of some of the worst food going. Thirdly, that horrible food tastes better than anything you could ever imagine. I mean seriously, what tastes better than a couple egg rolls and a plate full of General Tso chicken? Not much, my friend, not much. And howabout that lo mein? Oh my gosh it's to DIE for. And here, you can see the problem.

If you ever find yourself in one of these places (which I'm sure you will at some point or another), take a look around you. Half the people will go up for seconds and thirds, bringing back plate after plate of fried chicken, oily, slimy noodles, and cream cheese stuffed crab rangoons. And after they finish those monstrous piles of food, they'll go back and grab some sort of dessert from the vast selection of cake, ice cream, and other baked goods. And of course, you have to have a fortune cookie at the end of it all, right? I mean it wouldn't be a complete trip without that.

What is the average number of calories consumed at a Chinese buffet? Well, I'm not sure if this will come as a shock or not, but it's quite easy to break 3000 calories in one meal at a buffet. Heck, when eating competitively with my friends a few years back at a Chinese joint, I probably broke 5000, easy. Seriously, when everything is fried, prepared with lots of oil and sugar (and other nasty chemicals), food takes on enormous caloric density. If you want to succeed on a diet in a Chinese buffet, you HAVE to realize this.

The good news is that not all foods at a Chinese buffet are unhealthy. In fact, some are extremely good for you. Here's a list of what to go for at a buffet, and also a list of what to avoid.

Healthy Chinese Buffet Choices:

-Steamed vegetables (with no sauce)
-Plain Shrimp
-Brown Rice
-Muscles, clams, and most other shellfish
-Sushi (in small quantities)
-Grilled meats such as chicken with LITTLE OR NO SAUCE
-Wonton or egg drop soup
-Fruit
-Salad Bar

What to avoid:

-Lo Mein
-Sweet and Sour, General Tso, or any other sort of heavily sauced up fried chicken
-Fried ANYTHING
-Egg rolls
-Fried rice
-Crab rangoons
-Dumplings
-Dessert bar

Sure, Chinese buffets are dangerous, but they don't have to destroy your diet. Be smart about what you choose to eat, stay in control of your appetite, and you'll be just fine. That fried food may look, smell, and taste amazing, but think of the long term. What will it really do to your body, and your future goals? Yeah...doesn't look so appetizing anymore, does it?

Choose wisely, think of the future, and as always, GOOD LUCK!

Lots of Protein, Little Gains

2012-04-14T09:09:00.000-04:00

This is kind of a fun thing to think about, at least in my opinion. All you muscle heads out there: have you ever really stopped to consider all those supplements you're taking, the ones that claim to be super effective, and contain recovery formulas so advanced that they're basically GUARANTEED to make you bigger, stronger, faster, more quickly than anything else on the market? Well I've got a picture for you:

That there is two 13 gallon bags filled with containers of protein, representing about 8 months worth of supplements. Contained inside are five Combat Powder tubs (4lbs of protein each), two tubs of Wheybolic Extreme 60 (2lbs of protein each), and two generic brand protein tubs (I believe one was a Six Star whey protein tub, and a Body Fortress protein tub, each again containing 2lbs.) I've also had a couple more tubs of the Body Fortress protein that were thrown out previous to this instance. That's a total of at least 32lbs of whey protein, not to mention a couple other supplement bottles in there like Amplified N.O. Loaded pre-workout and Purple Wraath (a branch chain amino acid blend.)

Let's think about this for a second. Do I have more muscle mass than I did at the beginning of this year? I sure do! But do I have an extra 32 lbs of solid muscle packed onto my frame? NOT...EVEN...CLOSE. If I've gained 4 lbs of muscle this year, I'd be quite pleased. And believe me, it didn't all come from the supplements (I've been eating like a horse.)

So what does this mean? Are supplements worthless? Are they placebos? Are the supplement companies screwing you out of your money?

The answer is no.....and a little bit of yes at the same time.

Sure, you can bet those companies make their products for a LOT less money than they charge you. But are they selling you worthless powder in a plastic jug? NO! Supplements have come an extremely long way since their introduction in the 70's, and they ARE very advanced blends of fast digesting proteins that your body has a much easier time using to build muscle. Believe me, I wouldn't be able to work out nearly as often or as hard as I do without supplementation. They greatly assist with recovery, and keep me feeling tip top in order to hit it heavy as often as possible.

But supplements AREN'T miracle workers. The muscle building process is a slow and tedious one, and despite the quality of that powder you're putting into your body, at the end of the day only a tiny fraction of it will be used to build the solid muscle you so desperately desire. It's a depressing fact, but it's one you should know before you go scooping loads and loads of the latest whey protein blend into your shaker bottle.

In my opinion, you should obviously keep supplementing with proteins, pre-workouts, and stuff like that. They work. But don't go overboard on the dosage, because you'll just be wasting the stuff. Your body can only use so much, and as the picture above shows quite clearly, it adds up after a while.

Oh, and if you're looking for a way to cut down on supplement cost, how about eating some more real food?

Lift hard, eat big, and get strong. Good Luck!

Confessions Toward Getting Bigger

2012-04-13T08:46:00.003-04:00

I've been wanting to write more opinionated, personal articles for quite some time. Sure I love bringing you guys all sorts of healthy foods to try out, but rambling off nutrition facts gets old after a while. So I'll bring this post to the other side of the blogging spectrum and give you an inside look on some of the struggles I've had with dieting, weight goals, and how they affect the big picture. Sit back and grab a bowl of air popped popcorn, this is about to get deep.

So as you may or may not know, I'm a weightlifter. No, that's not what you think, I don't just go to the gym and lift weights like everyone else, trying to target specific muscles and get the "big guns." A weightlifter is technically someone who lifts weight in the Olympic style, focusing on two main lifts, the clean and jerk, and the snatch. I won't go nuts trying to explain those two lifts, look them up on youtube if you're curious. Let me just tell you that they're far different and far more total body intensive than your traditional bicep curl. Anyway, being a competitive weightlifter means I'm in the gym 9 times a week, squatting, snatching, cleaning, and jerking as much weight as possible for high volume. Because this sport is judged solely on how much weight is lifted successfully, I need as much muscle as possible packed into as little space as possible. I need dense, explosive, muscle tissue that's very flexible and ready to work at a moment's notice. Sounds easy to get, right? Just load up the steaks on the grill, mix a few protein shakes, and train hard as hell.

But there's a catch.

This sport is also judged in weight classes. What this means is that everyone who competes falls into a class depending on their body weight, which more accurately pits athletes against each other and can really determine who is stronger, has better technique, or in general a better combination of both. It wouldn't really be fair to pit the scrawny, short, 63 kg dude against Mr. big and brutish weighing in at 150 kg, would it? This means weightlifters, while being able to eat a LOT depending on their training, need to watch their diet and make sure it's the most effective combination of foods that will give them both enough energy to complete workouts, and enough excess calories to rebuild torn muscle fiber. Diet is extremely important in Olympic weightlifting.

And there's one more catch too. Every lifter has an optimal weight to lift at, usually based on their height and build. To lift optimally at a body weight of 77 kg, you should be about 5'7". And here's where my struggle comes in. I'm 5'11", which means I should weight around 200-230 lbs to lift at my optimal capacity. I currently weight 162 lbs, which puts me in the lower end of the 77 kg class. I knew I needed to gain weight, and believe me, my coach has been yelling that fact in my face for the longest time.

Maybe you're thinking "so what the heck are you waiting for!?! You get to EAT A LOT OF FOOD! NICE!!!!" But not so fast. I'm not too keen to get big and fat quickly, as I considered myself pretty fit and trim at 158-160 lbs. I had visible abs, pretty decent build, and felt good. Purposely trying to gain weight, no matter how cleanly, might mean I need to sacrifice a good looking build for the sake of added muscle. This, to me, was a little bit depressing (and honestly, it still is.) Sure, putting on weight by eating a lot of clean food and training your butt off ensures that MOST of the weight you put on will be muscle, especially if you're not in a huge caloric excess. But there's absolutely zero percent chance of gaining weight and having it be 100% muscle. In fact, no matter how clean you do it, the percentage usually isn't even close to that number. And purposely putting on fat, to me, didn't sound like fun.

But I changed my diet anyway. I added about 500 calories more initially, and when I plateaued around 161 for a week or two, I added a couple hundred more. I eat all the clean food I can, and don't pay attention to calories quite as much as I used to when I was merely trying to maintain my weight. Roughly I'm around 3200-3300 calories a day now, but when I get up to above 170 lbs, I'm sure this figure will have to increase by another 20% at least. My training is hard enough that I need to eat a LOT of food to maintain my weight. And, resembling more the ectomorph build, I have a pretty fast metabolism as it is.

Honestly, while I love food like no one else, it makes my heart sink a little to know that I have to keep shoveling in the food to the point where I force my body to gain weight one way or another. I don't like seeing the little bits of fat showing up around my midsection (though at this point they're very very small, and I doubt anyone would really notice), but I do like looking in the mirror and seeing a more full, muscular, stronger me. So how do I get through it? How do I keep a positive spin on the weight gain process?

Well, firstly, the way you look can depend a lot on the clothes you wear, the amount of water you're retaining, and the mirror you're looking in, not to mention a million other variables. What I know in my head is that when I see myself in my dorm room mirror, and I think quietly that I look big enough as it is, and maybe I should stop trying to gain, I remind myself that this view is skewed. I'm close to the mirror, and have my own mental image of myself that warps reality a bit. Anyone around me would tell me I look like a rail. I know that. I don't look big to others, and therefore I tell myself I shouldn't look big to my own eyes either. I only weigh 162 for goodness sake. 162 lbs ISN'T big, especially if you're 5'11".

I also keep looking at pictures of my weightlifting idols. Klokov, Chigishev, Ilin, Dolega, all 105 kg or 105+kg lifters. They are huge, with ginormous amounts of USEFUL muscle. I tell myself I need to look and perform like them, and I won't stop training or eating until I do. I tell myself every bite and every squat will bring me one step closer to glory, and when I achieve that, I won't look half bad regardless. How could I? Tons of healthy food, tons of exercise, what could go wrong? So what if my abs aren't quite visible. When I throw 230 kg over my head, I don't think anyone will care, and I don't think I will either.

Dmitry Klokov, probably my favorite lifter (my height too)

Evgeny Chigishev, the pure essence of POWER

So my friends, if you're on a journey to get bigger, and are second guessing the weight gain, remember to take a deep breath, realize that abs aren't all that matters in the world, and grab a sweet potato. Train hard, eat big, get strong, grab glory. I won't stop until I do...that's for sure.

A Salad Rant

2012-04-12T07:30:00.003-04:00

Every now and then, I'll see something health or diet related that really irks me. It's always something that makes me go.."Are you serious? You can't believe what you're doing is actually healthy, can you?" And yet of course they think that, because obviously they don't read my blog. Makes me wish I had some big "foodguru802" stickers to go and slap on the shirts of health violators, you know what I mean? But I digress. What's the subject of this rant? Well my friends, it's a little topic I like to call the ignorant salad eaters.

Salads are great. No...they're BEYOND great. Packed with nutrients, loaded with fiber, absolutely 100% healthy for you in their most RAW forms. They have the power to keep you healthy for extended periods of time, and make sure your body stays in tip top condition throughout all you put it through. I contribute my uncannily good health throughout last winter's cold and flu season to my large salad/vegetable intake, and while I'll never know for sure if it was the veggies or shear luck that kept me healthy as a horse, I can definitely assume that all those raw foods played at least a little role. Salads are powerful things.

But....they're not miracle workers. They don't have the power to counteract a bad complimentary meal. What really frustrates me is to see someone with a plate loaded high with chicken nuggets, garlic bread, french fries, and cookies, at the salad bar to make sure they cancel out some of that bad food with a nice green salad (smothered in ranch may I add). What are you guys thinking??? Don't get me wrong, it's great to get some veggies in regardless of whatever else you eat, but seriously, look at your waistline. There's a reason your pants barely fit. What you're doing is the equivalent of piling the stinkiest garbage you can on the floor, then trying to get rid of the smell with a can of Febreeze. That garbage is still going to reek no matter how much of that wretched spray you end up using.

Sure, maybe they're just getting salad because they like salad. And I'd be willing to believe that, or at least give them the benefit of the doubt, until half the time they open their mouth to their friends and say something along the lines of "Gotta be healthy today and grab my salad." Are you kidding me? See that face sized cookie on your plate? You threw all illusions of healthy out the window when you picked that sucker off the shelf. Salads don't counteract bad foods.

Oh, and just so we're clear, salads don't counteract bad dressings either. Sure, that marvelous combination of lettuce, tomatoes, onions, peppers, mushrooms, and chickpeas may be a fantastic meal on its own, but once it's smothered in a cup of fatty ranch, or oily Italian, or sugary rasperry vinaigrette, it loses most of its illusions of health. It's not completely destroyed, but now it has probably three times as many calories, and two thirds of those calories now have absolutely no benefit to you. If you're going to dress your salad, pretend it's dressing for a hot summer day and do it MINIMALLY.

So there's my little salad rant. By all means, eat as many greens as you can, they'll work wonders for your health, that I can guarantee. But there is no magic in those leaves, or those tomatoes, or those beans. They're vegetables, and only have the power to help you by themselves, not counteract all the other crap you may decide to shovel in your mouth. Get it? Awesome. Food Guru out.

Eating For Your Goals

2012-04-09T08:33:00.000-04:00

I'm back again after a long weekend filled with homework, but I definitely wanted to make sure I addressed what I consider a very important topic regarding diet and exercise. Now I may have touched on it once or twice (or about ten times...), but never have devoted an entire article to this simple little piece of wisdom. And that special nugget of knowledge, my friends, is that even if you're training hard as heck to accomplish whatever goals you may have set in the gym, you're only concerning yourself with half of what you need. That's right, if your diet doesn't compliment your goals, you may never reach your true potential under the bar, on the track, in the pool, or wherever else you want to make your mark on history.

Now sure, we all know to "eat healthy, whole foods." But that's wayyyy too general to work sometimes. I'm talking more specifically about eating a diet tailored EXACTLY to your sport or activity. If you haven't done the research and adjusted your intake regarding both quantity, quality, and what exactly it comprises, then you aren't going to hit it perfectly day in and day out like you need to in order to become the best. Let's delve into this a little further, and see exactly what I mean.

Before I go much farther, let me address one thing. I mentioned eating was half of performing well. Actually...it isn't. You can eat crap, train as hard as physically possible, and still see results. But will they be optimal results? Will they come as quickly as physically possible? Will you look and feel your best the most possible amount of days? If you say yes, you're kidding yourself. OF COURSE NOT. Eating may not be everything, but it's a HUGE part of performing the way you want to perform.

Now each sport/activity/goal you have in mind has a specific diet type that works optimally for the desired results. Here are a few examples of what you need to be eating based on what exactly you want to achieve:

Lose fat: Clean foods, raw foods, whole foods, all in a caloric deficit will work very well. To see optimal results, keep a lot of water in your diet, keep the sugar far away from your piehole, and make sure you're getting lean meats dense with protein, complex, slow digesting carbs full of fiber and whole wheat, and healthy fats like nuts and olive oil. You MUST keep in a caloric deficit though, which will be a different value for everybody based on weight, age, metabolism, muscle density, and all sorts of other factors. To lose large amounts of fat, ketogenic diets (very low carb) diets have been known to work well, and I have a whole article on those, so read up.

What doesn't work as well: Junk foods, high in saturated fats, hydrogenated fats, and especially lots of sugar. Sure, if you're in a caloric deficit at the end of the day, that's great, and you'll still lose weight, but I can almost guarantee it won't happen as quickly or efficiently as possible. You're basically using up calories that instead could be replaced with lean meats to help maintain muscle mass and fiberous veggies that will keep you full. If you eat like crap, you'll tend to look like...well...you know.

Gain Mass: Lots of food. You need to be in a caloric excess at the end of the day, but try to keep an eye on the actual amount you go over your maintenece (the number of calories you require to maintain your weight). Overshoot this number by too much, and you'll start putting on an excessive amount of fat. And we all know the name of the game when gaining mass is trying to put on muscle with as little fat as possible. To do this, like I'll always say, keep it clean, but calorie dense. Red meats are great, as are scoops of peanut butter and sweet potatoes. Gaining mass isn't about eating anything and everything in sight. This is what's called a "dirty bulk," and almost always results in too much fat gain and very little actual muscle gain. Train hard in the gym, do big, compound lifts, and don't skimp on the meals.

What doesn't work as well: Obviously, eating under or at maintenance levels will make any gains in size impossible. Yes, that's right, IMPOSSIBLE. It goes against the laws of nature. If you don't consume more energy than you use, your body won't have an excess to build things bigger and stronger. So if you're trying to gain a six pack AND get bigger, you might as well forget about it. Focus on the muscle, eat big and often, and worry about cutting up later. Seriously, there isn't much more of a futile situation than trying to get big and eating too small. Get it?

Gain Strength: Here's the deal, if you're looking to gain strength, like gaining mass, you need food. Sure, keeping it clean is always the goal. Eat a boatload of protein, lots and lots of complex carbs, and as always, healthy fats like nuts and seeds. Eat a LOT of them. Your body needs every ounce of fuel to replenish itself for maximal loading as frequently as possible. Here's the deal though. Strength athletes, if truly specific to their sport, generally don't get all the power they need from healthy, clean foods. Usually they'll throw in a few borderline foods, and many just go all out on the junk. Sure, it's bad for you, but a burger, a piece of meat pizza, and a pile of fries really helps you push a LOT of extra weight up. Believe me I know, some of my best squat sessions were after an accidental overload of food the night before. All that caloric energy, while not optimal for lean looks and rippling abs, sure works great for strength. Would I reccommend going for the junk? HECK NO! I believe there's always a clean alternative, and here it just lies in eating more food. Drink milk, eat peanut butter, have a couple of sweet potatoes. That'll give you the energy. It may fill you up, but hey, your stomach could lose a bit of stretching.

I will say this however. If you're training for strength, you're not allowed to cry if you slip up and eat a burger and a few pieces of cake. Remember, you don't train to be lean, you train to be strong. If you go over caloric requirements, even by a lot, so what? Use it to fuel your workout. Eat as best you can.

What doesn't work as well: Obviously, less food doesn't work. Cutting carbs DOESN'T WORK. Low calorie diets DON'T WORK. Heck, I'll say in general that trying to put a cap on your calories DOESN'T WORK! If you want to be strong, eat when you're hungry, eat a LOT whenever you can, and make sure you're working hard enough to stay hungry frequently. I will say that unlike mass gain, it IS possible to get stronger without excess calories, but it's definitely slow going for anyone other than a newbie. High carb, high fat, high protein. That's the name of the game for strength under the bar.

Before you go thinking you can deadlift that, realize that those big plates are 100lbs a piece

Endurance: Carbohydrates. Need I say more? If you're running miles upon miles a day, you need carbs, both simple and complex. I'm not a runner, so I can't give you a specific diet that will make you as successful as possible. But I will say that from the endurance athletes I've met, they're always shoveling in the pasta, fruit, and veggies. Sure, they eat a lot of lean protein to help rebuild ripped up muscles (and pop a lot of joint supplements for those pounded ankles), but as far as I know the main focus is carbohydrates. This goes for swimming, running, biking, hiking, or other sports/activities where you're active at medium-high intensity levels for extended periods of time. Your body needs fuel, make sure it gets enough.

What doesn't work as well: Well honestly, I was going to say ketogenic diets. However, I know that there are runners out there who follow ketogenic diets and are quite successful. I believe these people have been on keto diets for quite some time though, and personally I don't believe it's the greatest idea to limit carb intake and expect to perform as well on extended runs, bike trips, etc. Don't limit carbs, don't eat in a caloric deficit, and for obvious reasons DON'T DEHYDRATE YOURSELF. Lots of water, LOTS AND LOTS!

Listen, once again, if you don't eat for your goals, you're probably not going to reach them. I say probably because for some reason, certain people get lucky. But those people are few and far between. Not losing weight? I'd look to your diet first. Not improving on your lifts despite lifting heavy day in and day out? You're probably not eating enough. Trying to gain mass but the scale won't budge? Heck...EAT MORE! Can't seem to run a 5 minute mile? Well, have a big plate of spaghetti the night before and see if you just can't break that barrier tomorrow. It's simple stuff. Sure, there can be lots wrong with a training program, but I'd really make sure your diet isn't off kilter first. Have a good food base, and go from there. After all, we are what we eat, and I'll take that saying a step further and say our accomplishments tend to reflect what we eat as well.

And then there's Chad Ochocinco who eats McDonalds every day and still seems to perform better than was thought to be physically possible. *sigh*, it's people like him that take away credibility for the healthy stuff. Oh well. There's only one of him, and there's many more people like you and me....the normal people. Just don't follow his example, OK? Please?

He eats McDonalds EVERY DAY!?! As Chad would say..."Child Please.."

Eat to be strong, to be fast, and to win. Good Luck!

Pushing Through Fatigue: Don't Be A WIMP!

2012-04-07T07:47:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since my last article, and for that I apologize. School has kept me quite busy, especially as the semester is wrapping up. But today, I wanted to address a topic I see far too often among my friends looking to get healthy, fit, strong, ripped, or whatever else you might want to call it. And that, of course, is the topic of fatigue. You know, tiredness, soreness, yawning-ness....yeah I just made that word up. But you know what I mean. It's that feeling you have the day or two after a really hard workout, where you crawl out of bed, open your eyes, and realize that you want nothing more than to skip today's scheduled workout and curl up on the couch with some chocolate milk and a bowl of cereal. Your muscles hurt, your brain can't think, and you feel so inflexible that it wouldn't be out of the question to attempt to loosen your muscles with a rolling pin. So what should you do? You know you have to work out -- you have a goal you have to meet. But you're sooo tired, and maybe your body is crying for rest. Which should take priority? Your long term goal, or your aching back?

Well, honestly, it depends. Sure, there are times when you should take an unscheduled day off and occupy the couch like it's your J-O-B. But, my loyal readers, you won't be happy with what I'm about to say (or maybe you will, I don't really know.) When it comes down to it, THOSE TIMES ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN. If you've been on your workout plan for a while, and it's been working, your body probably can handle the workout for that day, even if it doesn't feel like it. Heck, I work-out 9 times per week, nearly three and a half hours a day (two sessions.) If I'm not walking into the gym a complete zombie, then I know that day will be absolutely fantastic. When push comes to shove, you NEED to learn how to push through fatigue if you're going to get anywhere fast in your workout. If it's not your rest day, it's time to push yourself to your max. Will it be the same maximum level that you had on a good day? Probably not. But as long as you're giving it your all, that's enough.

But I can hear you yelling at me "WHY!?! Why should I force my way through the crappiest, most painful feelings I've ever known!?! What are you doing to me??"

First of all, calm down. Second of all, I'm going to ask you, as politely as possible, to suck it up. Listen, lifting weights hurts. It makes you big, strong, and ripped, but it hurts. It's fun, BUT IT HURTS! If you're not feeling at least a little pain the day after, you're not working hard enough. And to answer the question as to why you should push through the pain, the answer is quite simple: It forces your body to adapt to heavier, more frequent loading. It doesn't just "suggest" to your muscle fibers that they grow bigger and stronger, it FORCES them too. If you're pushing your muscles to the point where they start screaming "NO MORE!!!" to you the next day, then laugh in their face and push them harder. If you do, I can almost guarantee two things will happen.

FIRST: You will make GREAT progress. Heck, I'd say have of the personal records I've set have been on days where I was so sore and tired I couldn't think straight. Something about fatigue brings out the animal in people. You tell me, would you rather lie on your bed, nursing your wounds? Or lift heavier weight for more reps than you ever have before?

SECOND: Your muscles will probably just shut up and work. Sure, you may be in pain now, but unless it's sharp, violent, strained-a-muscle type pain, it will go away when you start forcing your muscles to lift weight again. You will almost always be sore somewhere if you're working out at least 3 days a week. It's futile to avoid working sore muscles, and it's not harmful if you do lift with the same muscle groups again even while they're recovering. Like I said before, this will force even greater muscle gain, and you'll see quick progress. Once you warm up and start lifting, I can almost guarantee all that pain and fatigue will take a back seat to the task at hand, which of course is getting bigger, stronger, faster, and leaner. Sounds great right?

So working through some of the worst fatigue can give you some of the best gains. We know this now. But how can we avoid some of that pain and fatigue in the first place? Well, if you spend a little more time devoted to active recovery work, I bet there won't be nearly as many days where it hurts to pick up your coffee mug, or takes actual effort to keep your eyelids open.

Stretch: After a heavy workout, static stretch your muscles thoroughly, ESPECIALLY your legs. The bigger the muscle, the more frustrating it will be to combat post workout tightness the next day. You can keep things loose and flexible by spending about 10 minutes after your workout really stretching those muscle fibers, which will aid in recovery speed, and will actually help strength gains overall. Plus, you'll be more flexible, allowing for better form and less chance of injury.

Massage/foam roll/lacrosse ball: If you can get someone to give you a massage, do it. If you can't (which probably will be the case), do some foam rolling on your sore muscles, or if you're feeling frisky use a lacrosse ball and really dig in. Caution, THIS WILL HURT! And when it hurts, you know you're doing it right. Massage goes an extraordinarily long way toward helping muscles recover. It loosens them up, and encourages fresh bloodflow to places that usually don't get too much, especially if they're tight as a drum. This bloodflow will allow the muscles to receive better nutrition and hydration, and will help them to grow bigger and stronger, faster. After the massage/rolling session, I bet you'll feel a million times better too.

Lacrosse ball rolling...like foam rolling, except 10000 times more painful (and effective...)

Post workout nutrition: This one is a well known technique, but should NEVER be overlooked. Immediately after a workout, consume a fast acting protein and a few carbohydrates to ensure your muscles IMMEDIATELY have the nutrients they need to start rebuilding themselves. This will go an extremely long way in ensuring you aren't sore the next day, or at least not nearly AS sore.

Diet/nutrition in general: If you're working yourself to your max, you need to keep your entire diet taylored toward recovery and growth-- lots of protein, quality carbs, and healthy fats. Don't cut calories down, or you'll definitely feel it in your muscles and general level of fatigue. Clean foods go a long way, make sure to eat lots of chicken, vegetables, fruits, and fats like nuts and oils. Heck, what am I talking about, I've got near a million articles all on food. CHECK THEM OUT!

Pre-workout supplements: Sometimes, even after everything, you need a little kick in the butt. A good pre-workout supplement can supply this with a respectable dosage of caffeine, nitric oxide, and creatine, which when combined give you a flood of energy, usually more than enough to kick you out of your funk and into lifting mode. I would suggest Cellucor C4, or Assault by MusclePharm. Both great supplements.

Fatigue, annoying yes, crippling? NO. Of course, it's up to you when you hit the gym. But I'm here to tell you that your body isn't always right when it says you're too tired to hit the heavy stuff. In fact, it's usually wrong (not ALWAYS, but usually. You'll have to find your own threshold, but again, usually it's MUCH higher than people think.) Push through the pain and see great results. Now how can I hammer this point home? Hmmmm....

Don't be a WIMP!

Good Luck!